Bio

Monday, April 24, 2017

The Greatest Treasure

I was in Minneapolis for a pastor's
conference in January, and one of my favorite preachers and authors,
John Piper, was set to preach. I was very excited. His influence
through his writing and preaching has impacted me ever since coming
to Christ, and I was going to have the opportunity to hear him preach
live.

He came to the podium for the first
main session, began to speak, and for the next 45 minutes, I heard a
very forgettable sermon. In fact, it was so forgettable, I don't
remember the text he preached from, nor do I remember the main point.
I don't even remember sub-points.

I was surprised. As a growing
preacher, the key things I always make sure to do is go back to the
text, have a clear main point, have a clear flow of thought, clear
sub-points, etc. And here was a preaching veteran, and I couldn't
remember any of them.

Now, the point of this isn't to tear
John Piper down. In fact, the most memorable moment of the
conference came from that very talk. It was John Piper's joy itself.
He spoke about God and His Glory, His Gospel, His Godness, His
Holiness, and Piper was awestruck. He loved God. He treasured God.
So much so that I could hear it in how his voice changed, how his
eyes watered, and how his face brightened when he spoke about Him.

He wasn't here solely to tell pastors
how to do their job. He wanted them to be refreshed by the most
beautiful and woundrous entity, the one who is everlasting hope and
joy.

I shouldn't have been surprised. His
book “Desiring God” is devoted to the idea that the chief end of
man is to love God and ENJOY Him forever. But it was a sight to see
Piper genuinely reflecting his true treasure. It made me wonder, how
often do I stop at theology and doctrine without allowing it to
impact my soul?

How often do I read my bible, pray, or
do evangelism and discipleship because I treasure Christ?

How often is my goal to get people
believing the right things, without pointing them to the pleasure of
knowing the right person?

The great thing about Piper is that he
loves good doctrine. He loves the bible. He loves the mission that
God has given us. But that's all driven by his passion to love
Christ more than all other things. It drives his study, his
preaching, his prayer life.

To be clear, his passion is not driven
solely be emotion. I believe it's driven by priority. The priority
of spending time with God, of learning about God, communing with God,
giving things up for God, because He is worth it.

Where is our treasure? Is it in God?
Or in what we can get from Him? Do we treasure being right? Do we
treasure possessions? Or do we treasure our creator, savior, and
redeemer?

Start with what you truly believe. Do
you believe God is your greatest source of joy? Are you cultivating
that joy with reading God's Word and prayer? Are you serving Him by
sharing the Gospel with others and making disciples? Are you giving
faithfully and cheerfully to God's Mission?

Treasure Christ. Treasure Him above
all else. Treasure Him with your mind. Treasure Him with your
heart. Treasure Him with your actions.